


The Beginning of the End

by keithpoenewt



Series: High School Senior Year AU [8]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Angst, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Corex AU, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, F/M, Female Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, GIVE MY BOY A MEDAL YOU COWARDS, Gay Keith (Voltron), High School AU, Hunk & Lance (Voltron) Friendship, Hunk (Voltron) is so Pure, Keith (Voltron) Angst, Keith and Shiro are Adoptive Siblings, Lance (Voltron) Angst, M/M, POV Keith (Voltron), Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Sassy Pidge | Katie Holt, Senior year, friendship goals tbh, he finally got his boo (now when will i), he got his boo too (now it's my guy's turn), it's a 3 day camp really, not with each other (for the most part), or retreat, senior year retreat, she's my queen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 17:07:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13127967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keithpoenewt/pseuds/keithpoenewt
Summary: The final day of Corex calls for some reflection on past times. Keith takes a trip down memory lane to revisit with his Freshman First Day groups to open the time capsules they made that year. Luckily Lance happened to be in his group freshman year so he's able to reminisce with him about a lot of things and catch up with their group members.Later Lance makes plans to have an impromptu game of Never Have I Ever in the pool after lunch...what could go wrong with this? A lot. That's how much.The day ends with some final words from the camp counselors and teachers before everyone goes back to their cabins to pack up their stuff, board the buses, and head back home...marking the start of their last year together.





	The Beginning of the End

**Author's Note:**

> WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP LAST DAY OF COREX GET PUMPED! I originally planned for this to be two separate parts, but then I thought "screw it, it's the last day...why not go all out?" and I did! This is like 10k words or so and I regret nothing. Corex may be over, but our favorite primary paladins' senior year has only just begun.
> 
> Enjoy!

**Corex Day 3, Morning:**

Keith stirs awake when he feels something drop onto his face. He groans and turns, taking whatever fell on him with him as he tries to get more comfortable to fall back asleep. “Nooo…Keith, I need my shirt,” Lance whines from next to him.

“Mmm…shouldn’t have dropped it…” Keith mumbles.

Lance huffs. “Fine! I’ll just take one of yours then.” Keith hears him pull out Keith’s bag from the shelves and drop it onto Keith’s bed. “Dude…why do you own so much black?”

“Aesthetic.”

Lance chuckles. “I’ll say…OH! Hell yes!”

Keith feels the weight of the bag leave the bed so he slowly sits up, removing Lance’s shirt from his face. He turns and sees Lance wearing his varsity baseball team shirt from last year. It has Keith’s name and jersey number 23 on the back. Keith raises an eyebrow at Lance. “Really? That one?”

“Uh, duh,” Lance plops down on Keith’s bed, sitting on the edge. “You stole my swim tank so this is payback.”

“I’ll probably get burned again if I wear this tank,” Keith replies, handing Lance his shirt back. “I’ll just wear something else I packed.”

“Nuh uh, mister. You’re gonna wear something of mine,” Lance says, determined. “Unless the rest of my shirts are tanks then never mind.” He grabs his bag and begins to rummage around inside.

Meanwhile, Keith swings his legs off the bed but winces at the movement of his ankle. He curses quietly under his breath as he attempts to stand. Lance turns around and scrambles to his feet. “Are you okay?” Lance asks, concerned.

Keith nods. “Yeah…my ankle is really tight though and I think I have a Charley Horse - ow.” He goes to take a step, but he stumbles forward. Lance leaps in front of Keith and grabs his arms, catching him.

“Dude, you’re going to hurt yourself,” Lance warns. “Sit back down and let me rub it, okay?”

Keith rolls his eyes but does what Lance says. Lance pulls up one of the chairs in the room and sits across from Keith then grabs Keith’s leg. Keith watches as he begins to lightly massage Keith’s calf.

“Let me know if this starts to hurt,” Lance says.

“I mean it hurts, but it’s a good hurt…if that makes sense,” Keith replies. He sighs in content. “Oh my god…your hands are like-” He falls back onto the bed, closing his eyes “-magic.”

Lance laughs. “Thank you…I think?”

Keith hisses in pain when Lance touches his injured ankle. “Not that!” He sits back up and glares at him. “What-” He stops when he sees Lance’s concerned expression as he traces the large bruise on Keith’s ankle. “Lance…what are you doing?”

“Sorry…I just don’t like seeing you hurt,” Lance mumbles. He looks back up at Keith and his gaze flickers from Keith’s eyes to his mouth.

Keith feels his cheeks heat up and he looks around the room to see if their cabin mates are gone before scooching on the bed closer to Lance. He grabs Lance’s hands and pulls him closer, pressing his lips against his. Lance immediately responds and moves the chair closer to the bed, pulling Keith’s other leg so Keith’s on his lap. His hands rest at Keith’s hips, rubbing around in small circles. Keith moves his hands to cup Lance’s face and tilts his head to the right, deepening the kiss. Lance chuckles and grips Keith’s hips, pulling him closer on Lance’s lap. Keith moves slightly, adjusting himself, causing Lance to make a muffled noise.

_Oops._

Keith moves his arms back around Lance’s neck and pulls his lips away to breathe for a second. He presses his forehead against Lance’s and closes his eyes. “I really don’t deserve you,” Keith whispers.

Lance sighs. “Keith, look at me,” he orders gently.

Keith opens his eyes and moves his head back slightly to look at Lance. He looks at Lance’s dark, sea blue eyes and frowns. “What?”

Lance reaches up and smooths out the area between Keith’s eyebrows. “Don’t frown, you’ll get wrinkles. Anyway, you _are_ good enough for me, Keith. I’m the one who didn’t think I was good enough for you.”

“See, now that’s something I don’t understand,” Keith says as he rests his arms on Lance’s shoulders, running his fingers through his hair. “You’re easily the most popular guy in the class, you get along with everyone, you’re the freakin' class president, and everyone loves you. I’m nothing like you!”

Lance rolls his eyes. “Keith, you’ve been leading the team in most touchdowns scored in football, most goals scored in hockey, and most bases stolen in baseball.”

Keith opens his mouth to reply, but the door handle begins to move, meaning someone’s about to come into the room. Keith quickly moves off Lance, wincing at the shooting pain in his ankle, but hops onto the bed just before the person enters the room.

Hunk walks in and jumps, clearly startled when he sees Lance and Keith. “Jeez, you two scared the crap out of me! I didn’t know people would still be in here.”

“Keith slept in some bazillion hours late. Are we needed outside?” Lance asks, standing up to stretch. Keith sees a sliver of skin show from the bottom of Lance’s shirt and he immediately turns away, blushing.

“I think Allura is about to call everyone in front of the rec room…why isn’t Keith wearing a shirt and why are you wearing Keith’s baseball shirt?” Hunk wonders.

“Because it’s a free country, Hunk…jeez,” Lance retorts with a smirk. “Besides, I like Keith’s shirts…they’re soft and smell like him.”

“That’s creepy…but cute? Anyway, hurry up. You’ve got like eight minutes,” Hunk says as he plugs his phone in before walking back outside.

Keith gets up and gives Lance a small glare. “I still need a shirt, asshole.”

Lance gives Keith a quick kiss on the cheek before rummaging in his own bag again. “On it, Keithy-kinz!” He pulls out a varsity soccer shirt and throws it at Keith. “There you go! Now you get to wear my last name and number on your back!”

Keith turns it over and sees the name McClain written over the number 28 on the back. “At least it’s not a tank.” Keith sets it down and quickly applies deodorant before putting the shirt on and going to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He decides to brush his hair and pull it back into a short ponytail so it doesn’t bug him all day. He walks out and raises an eyebrow at Lance. “What are you looking at?”

“A very beautiful person who looks really good in a ponytail,” Lance says quickly with wide eyes.

Keith rolls his eyes but feels himself blushing. “Shut up, Lance. Will you get me my crutches? Then we can go outside.”

Lance nods and grabs Keith’s crutches for him before leading him outside. They walk out just in time to hear Allura ringing the bell in front of the rec room, signaling everyone to circle around her.

Once everyone joins her, she begins to speak. “Good morning everyone! I hope you all slept well after last night. It was a huge success and I am thankful for everyone who came up to speak.” She smiles at everyone before continuing. “Anyway, today, you all are going to take a trip down memory lane. You will be getting back into your freshman first-day groups to open your time capsules. Group leaders, please come up here and get the pictures you and your group members are assigned so they can find their chaperone.”

Lance smiles at Keith before walking up to Allura with the other Corex leaders to get slips of paper. Keith looks around, trying to find Hunk and his other group members, but someone taps him on the shoulder from behind. He turns and sees Bailey and Troy behind him. “Oh, hey.”

Bailey just smiles widely at Keith and Troy chuckles to himself. “Nice shirt, Keith,” Bailey says, still smiling.

Keith looks down at it then immediately back up to glare at them. “Very funny, but Lance took mine so this was the only way I could get back him.”

“Oh, yeah, sure thing, number twenty-eight,” Troy replies, smirking.

Keith rolls his eyes. “Shut up.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you played soccer, Keith…nor did I know your last name was McClain,” Cassidy says, popping up from behind.

Keith groans and goes to tell them off, but stops when he sees Lance and Hunk walking over. Lance smiles at his group and hands out pieces of paper with everyone’s name on it. Each one has a picture of something on it. Cassidy and Hunk both have a beach ball, Lance and Keith have a flip-flop, Bailey has sunglasses, and Troy has a sandcastle. “What the hell is this?” Troy asks.

“You find other people with that same picture so you know you were in the same freshman first-day group,” Lance explains. “You see that Cassidy and Hunk have the same ones…well, that means they were in the same freshman first-day group as each other. The same goes for Keith and me.”

“That’s dumb,” he replies, causing Keith and Hunk to laugh.

Lance gives Troy an unamused expression and sighs. “Well, deal with it. I’ll see the rest of you later, alright?” He starts walking around, looking for people with a flip-flop. Keith follows him, also keeping an eye out. If Keith’s remembering correctly, he thinks Sylvia Huertas, Jeffrey Smith, and Kara are in their group.

Oh shit… _Kara_.

Lance taps Keith’s shoulder and gestures to Ezor Parisi who is holding a sheet of paper with a large flip-flop on it. He and Keith hurry over to her and she gasps and smiles widely when she sees them. “Keith! Lance! Oh, I’m so excited you’re in my group! Come here, give me a hug!” She pulls Lance and Keith into a tight hug. “What happened to your ankle, Keith?”

“Oh, I hurt it during the Corex Games. Lotor helped me patch it up,” Keith replies.

Ezor nods. “Makes sense…you are one of his favorite students.” Her eyes widen and she covers her mouth. “Oops…I shouldn’t have said that.”

Lance gasps and looks over to where Lotor is standing. “MR. ISOLA! WHY IS KEITH A FAVORITE AND I’M NOT?!”

Lotor turns and glares at him before chuckling. He shakes his head and turns back to his group. Lance crosses his arms and pouts. “No fair,” Lance complains.

Ezor giggles. “It’s okay, Lance…you’re one of my favorite students.”

“Aww, thanks Miss Parisi,” Lance replies with a smile.

Keith rolls his eyes at them and sits down on the picnic table, tired of standing up. He turns and sees Kara, Sylvia, and Jeffrey making their way over to them. Once Ezor notices them, she sits down across from Keith and gestures for the others to join her. Lance plops down next to Keith, winking at him. Kara scoffs and rolls her eyes in disgust.

“Okay! Hello everyone!” Ezor smiles widely, speaking before Kara can say anything rude. “Who’s ready to open their time capsule?”

“Yeah!” Lance and Sylvia exclaim simultaneously.

Ezor pulls out the box and opens it up in the middle of everyone. Lance immediately gasps and pulls out a trophy. “Oh my god! It’s my little league soccer trophy! I thought I lost this!” Lance exclaims.

Keith smiles at him then pulls out a thick envelope with his name on it written in handwriting he doesn’t recognize. “What the hell is this?” he wonders.

Lance looks over at him and raises his eyebrows. “You don’t remember putting that in there? Dude, it’s the letter your mom wrote to you before she died. You told me you didn’t want to read it until you could fully understand it.”

Keith looks back at him and furrows his eyebrows. “You remember me telling you that?”

“Of course, Keith. I cared so much about you back then after you opened up to me about that.” Lance smiles at him. “I still do care.”

Keith sets the letter aside and peers into the box again, but doesn’t see anything else of his in there. He deflates slightly and looks around at his group members, slightly jealous of them and all their stuff. Sylvia has pictures of her and her friends, Kara has some pictures of her family (Keith doesn’t spend much time looking at her stuff because he couldn’t care less about her), and Jeffrey has some metals from when he played lacrosse as a kid.

Lance elbows Keith lightly. “Hey, don’t look so glum. Freshman year you had a plan…just open the letter.”

Keith sighs but does what Lance says and tears open the letter. He pulls out some paper and sees a handwritten note and some pictures. Keith sets the note aside and looks at the pictures. The first one is of Keith as a baby looking up from his crib at whoever is taking the picture. The next one is of a woman with short black hair and striking blue-violet eyes smiling down at an infant Keith, sound asleep in her arms. Keith’s breath hitches and his eyes widen.

It’s his mother.

He goes to the next picture and it’s a family portrait of himself, his father, and his mother all smiling at the camera. Toddler Keith is reaching for his mother’s hand, not looking at the camera. He picks up the final picture, but he drops it and covers his mouth in shock. It’s of her and Keith in the hospital room just before his mother died of cancer.

Keith feels his eyes begin to water as he reaches for the note and starts to read it:

 

_Dear Keith,_

_I don’t know when you’ll be reading this, but I do hope you get to. I’m writing this from the hospital room as my time runs out on Earth. I’m sorry I couldn’t stay to watch you grow up, but the universe had other plans for me. I hope you don’t think less of me after I leave you…I never intended to hurt you like this, but you’re too young to understand right now._

 

_I have three lessons I want to teach you. The first is about friendship. You will meet people in your life who will try to take you down, but you can’t let them win. You will meet people in your life who will stick by you even through your worst…those are the ones you want to keep around. I hope you find these people in your life because you will form everlasting bonds with them that can’t be broken even by the silliest of fights._

 

_The second lesson is about trust. I know it’s going to be hard without me in your life, but I know you’ll make it. You’re a special boy, Keith. I could tell from the moment you were brought into the world. Don’t shut anyone out like I did when I was in my teenage years…it doesn’t help. I almost lost your father because of my own selfishness. Don’t push away the ones you love, Keith, please…you’ll only end up hurting yourself._

 

_The third lesson is about love. Keith, I know you won’t be able to feel this, but know I’m always watching down on you. You still have a mother’s love, but you just can’t see me. I’m always with you and will always love you no matter what. I hope your father takes good care of you when I go…he’s a good man, Keith and he loves you very much. I always hear him say how you remind him of me…no one could ever say a nicer thing to me than that. When you find the person who you want to spend the rest of your life with, you’ll know. I knew that the moment I met your father. I hope whoever you end up with treats you like the amazing person you are._

 

_Well, it’s almost that time. I’m sorry it ended like this, Keith._

 

_One last thing: I love you, don’t ever forget that._

 

_Krolia Kogane_

 

The end of the “e” in Kogane goes a little longer than it should, showing she probably passed right after she wrote it. Keith sniffles and wipes his eyes so nothing falls onto the paper, ruining it. He folds it back up and picks up the picture of Krolia holding him and smiling at him.

Lance looks over at Keith’s stuff from his own and gasps. “Oh my god! Keith!” Lance exclaims. “You were such a cute baby!” He turns to Keith and his smile wavers a bit when he sees the tears on Keith’s face. “Hey, you okay?”

Keith nods. “Yeah…I just never thought I’d see her again.”

“She’s very pretty,” Lance comments. “No wonder you’re so hot.” He smiles when Keith chuckles. “Do you remember anything about her?”

“Not really…I was too young, but I do have these random images of her. She liked to take me outside to look at the stars,” Keith replies. “Maybe that’s why I like stargazing so much.” He peers over at Lance’s stuff and gasps, snatching a picture off the table to look at it. “Oh, my god…you were such a chubby kid!”

Keith smiles widely at the family picture of the McClains during a visit down to Cuba. Lance’s mom is holding a very chubby toddler Lance with one arm and has her other hand on Marco McClain’s shoulder. One of the twins, most likely Lucy, is reaching for little Lance. Lance’s father has a hand on Carlos McClain’s shoulder, the other hand on Isabella McClain’s shoulder, and the other twin, probably Hannah, on his back.

Lance groans. “Shut up…not everyone was a cute kid like you, Keith.”

Keith turns to Lance. “I actually don’t have any pictures of myself until I was taken in by the Shiroganes when I was eleven. Well, now the ones my mom gave me.”

“Keith…that’s awful,” Lance whispers.

Keith shrugs. “It’s fine, I’m fine. The memories are what counts more, right?”

Lance goes to respond, but Allura rings the bell again and yells, “OKAY! NOW IT IS TIME TO MOVE ON TO SOME FUN GAMES! HALF OF YOU WILL BE RELIVING SOME OF THE GAMES YOU PLAYED DURING YOUR SOPHOMORE YEAR RETREAT WHILE THE OTHER HALF SHARES WHAT WAS IN THEIR TIME CAPSULE! YOUR CHAPERONE LEADER WILL INFORM YOU WHERE YOU WILL START!”

Ezor smiles at everyone. “We’re actually sharing first! Who wants to go first?”

Lance looks around and sees none of the other group members are volunteering so he raises his hand. “I’ll go! Okay, so, I’ll just go down this list. My upperclassman crush at the time was Kelly Davidson-”

Keith narrows his eyes. “Hey…wasn’t she our group leader?”

Lance shoots Keith a glare. “Maybe.” He ignores Keith’s scoff and eye roll and continues. “My freshman crush was Keith Kogane, obviously.” He winks at Keith before continuing. “Favorite bands were Coldplay, Maroon 5, and - I hate myself - One Direction.”

Keith snickers. “Loser.”

“You probably wrote down My Chemical Romance or Panic! At The Disco,” Lance retorts.

“Okay! Simmer,” Ezor interrupts with a chuckle. “Lance, please continue.”

“Thank you.” He clears his throat before continuing. “I didn’t write down any favorite artists…weird. Favorite food is Mango Mojito Rice Pudding - oh my god that’s heavenly! Now I want some.” He sighs dramatically. “Favorite color is teal, favorite movie-” He squints at the paper “-uh I just wrote _the hunters have become the hunted_ …why would I write that?”

Keith snickers. “It’s your favorite tagline, dude.”

“OH! Right! Silly me,” Lance chuckles. “Aaaand that’s all I wrote.”

“Thank you for sharing, Lance.” Ezor smiles at him then turns to Sylvia

Sylvia looks nervously at the other group members but visibly relaxes when Lance offers her a reassuring smile. “Okay, well, these crushes are super embarrassing, but I guess I have to share them anyway. My upperclassmen crushes were Manuel Moraless and Seth Alfero. My freshman crush was Ethan Alfero - oh god what was wrong with me.”

Lance laughs loudly. “No! Ethan’s hilarious!”

Keith raises an eyebrow. “Really? He’s obnoxious.”

“Don’t be rude, Keith. Not everyone is as amazing as me,” Lance replies, smirking.

Keith rolls his eyes and turns back to Sylvia. “Please continue before I jump off a cliff.”

Sylvia giggles. “Okay, my favorite singer was Selena Quintanilla - aw! I still love listening to her music. My favorite food is…wow…Mexican food.”

Lance snickers. “Real original, Sylvia. You didn’t see me write down Cuban food.”

She rolls her eyes. “Whatever, Lance.” She looks back at the paper. “And I didn’t write down a favorite band.”

“Okay! Thank you for sharing, Sylvia,” Ezor says before turning to Kara.

Keith winces as a shooting pain goes up his hurt leg. He bites his lip and tries to ignore the pain, but the Charley Horse returns. As Kara is talking, Keith taps Ezor on the arm and gestures to his leg then over to where Lotor is with Hunk’s group. She nods and allows him to go over there. Keith starts to stand up, getting his group’s attention. “Keith, what the hell?! I’m in the middle of talking!” Kara complains.

Keith glares at her. “I’m in a shit ton of pain from my ankle, _Kara_ , and if Mr. Isola doesn’t look at it in the next minute, I will murder you and your asshat of a boyfriend.”

Kara gasps. “Miss Parisi! Keith threatened to kill me!”

“Hmm? I didn’t hear anything,” Ezor replies with a smile. “Keith, you may go over there.”

Lance furrows his eyebrows. “I’m going with.”

Ezor shakes her head. “Lance, he’ll be okay on his own. Lotor is just over there.”

Keith gives Lance a reassuring smile before grabbing his crutches and heading over to Lotor, ignoring the immense amount of pain he’s in. Lotor looks up from where he is and gives Keith a confused, but concerned expression. “Keith? You okay?” he asks.

The entire group turns to him, but Keith ignores them and shakes his head no. Lotor stands up and looks at Hunk. “Hunk, you’re in charge.” Lotor gestures for Keith to follow him into the rec room where Allura, Matt, and Pidge are. They notice them walk in and Allura quickly moves to get a chair for Keith to sit in. Pidge brings over another chair for Keith’s leg to rest on. “Okay, Keith, what’s wrong?”

“My ankle really hurts and my calf is very tense,” Keith says through clenched teeth, gripping the sides of the chair.

Lotor turns to Matt and Pidge. “Get him a bag of ice please.”

Allura pulls up her chair and sits next to Keith. “When did it start hurting again?”

“I woke up this morning-” He pauses to wince at Lotor removing his brace to touch his ankle “-and when I went to get up, I got the shooting pain in my leg.”

“Have you been putting weight on your ankle?” Lotor asks.

Keith furrows his eyebrows, thinking if he ever did put weight on his ankle. The only times he did was when Lance was crying on the phone outside and when his crutches fell down the stairs when he went after Hunk. “Yes, but only a little when I didn’t feel like getting my crutches.”

Lotor sighs and rubs his forehead. “Keith, I told you to keep weight off it for a day. The swelling hasn’t gone away and there’s more bruising. I think it’s affecting the rest of your leg.”

Allura turns to Lotor. “What does that mean? How could it be affecting the rest of his leg? I thought you said the sprain was minor.”

“The sprain is minor, but that doesn’t mean he’s able to just walk around. I’m not a doctor, but the tendons in his ankles were stretched…now I believe there’s a small tear in it,” Lotor states as Matt and Pidge get back with a bag of ice. He motions for them to bring it over. “I don’t think it needs surgery right now, but if you keep putting weight on it, you will.”

Keith sighs. “Sorry…I just thought I needed to work up the muscles again.”

Lotor shakes his head no and places the ice on Keith’s ankle. “That comes after the resting period when the injury has healed. You athletes think you’re superhuman, but you’re not. I hate when I have to tell you all you’re not able to participate in games because of your own ego.” Lotor stands up. “I would hate for Coach Sendak to find out his best wide receiver is out for half the season because of a silly injury.”

Keith feels the blood drain from his face in fear. “Please, no…he’ll kill me. I worked hard for that spot and I can’t disappoint him.”

Lotor smiles. “There’s the Keith I know. I’ll tell Ezor to send Lance in here when they’re going to start playing the games, but for now, you’re going to sit here with Matt and Pidge and ice your ankle, am I understood?”

Keith sighs and nods. “Yes, sir.”

Lotor ruffles Keith’s hair before walking out of the room. Allura gives Keith’s arm a squeeze before walking out as well, probably to observe the other groups. Pidge plops down in Lotor’s chair and looks closely at Keith’s ankle under the bag of ice. “This is disgusting.”

Keith glares at her. “No shit, Sherlock. It hurts like hell!”

“You’re the one who jumped out of that tree,” Pidge replies, putting the bag of ice back.

Matt scoffs. “It was for the greater good! His team won because of Keith’s sacrifice! I think it’s noble.”

Pidge snickers. “So did Lance.”

Keith blushes and looks away. “Shut up…”

Matt chuckles. “Hey, it worked, didn’t it? I’m pretty sure I saw you two making out on the beach after Large Group Gifting.”

Keith’s eyes widen in fear. “WHAT?! YOU SAW US?!”

“Duh, someone had to keep an eye on the both of you. Allura and I just watched from the balcony to make sure you two didn’t wander far,” Matt says. “And don’t worry, Shiro has no idea about it right now, but he’s eventually gonna figure it out.”

“Matt also can’t keep a secret to save his life,” Pidge interjects. “He hasn’t seen Shiro yet so that’s also why he doesn’t know.”

Keith groans and puts his face in his hands. “Shiro will figure it out, but I don't care if Matt tells him. I-”

“KEITH!” a voice shouts from the doorway.

Pidge, Matt, and Keith turn around and see Lance standing in the doorway. He rushes over and kneels next to Keith’s chair. “Are you okay?”

Keith nods. “Yeah, I just can’t put any weight on my foot otherwise I’m going to risk needing surgery. Will you help put the brace back on?”

Lance nods and takes the brace from Matt as Pidge removes the bag of ice. Lance carefully puts it on, trying not to hurt Keith in any way. “Make sure it’s tight,” Matt instructs.

Keith grips the chair again when Lance tightens the straps on the brace. “Ow…”

“I’m sorry, Keith, but it has to be like that or else it won’t heal properly,” Matt says as Lance helps Keith to his feet. Pidge hands Keith his crutches.

“It’s okay, Matt. I appreciate the help from both of you,” Keith says with a smile.

Pidge giggles. “You’re welcome, Keith. Have fun outside.” She smirks.

“Not too much fun!” Matt exclaims.

Keith blushes and rolls his eyes as Lance leads him out the door over to their group. They pass Lotor’s group and Keith receives a smile and a small nod from him before they reach Ezor and the others. She smiles widely when she sees Keith. “Are you feeling better, Keith?”

“Yeah, Lotor helped me figure out what’s wrong. I can’t put any weight on my foot so I probably can’t participate in any of these activities,” Keith replies.

Kara scoffs. “Lame. I’d be able to participate if I was hurt.”

Keith turns and glares at her. “Would you like to test that theory? I can smash my crutch on your foot.”

Sylvia and Jeffrey snicker but stop when Ezor crosses her arms. “Let’s not fight, okay? I don’t want to have to yell at any of you. Kara, please leave Keith alone…Lotor gave him specific orders. Keith, I know she’s bothering you, but you can’t smash her foot in,” Ezor says.

Keith sighs. “I can dream though.”

Lance stifles a laugh and puts an arm around Keith’s shoulders. “I’m proud of you, babe.”

Kara gags. “Stop being gross! Ugh!”

“Oh, so you and Damien aren’t disgusting? I’m pretty sure you two did _it_ behind the cabins last night. Those noises are burned into my brain,” Sylvia retorts, crossing her arms.

Lance, Keith, and Jeffrey burst out laughing at Kara’s wide eyes and flushed cheeks. Ezor groans and claps her hands together. “Guys! Enough! I refuse to lose to my coworkers because you guys can’t get along! Zethrid’s group will not win in successfully beating all these games.”

Keith’s eyes widen in fear. “Mrs. Rozinov is…here?”

“KOGANE!” a deep woman’s voice yells from behind him, scaring the shit out of him. Keith turns around and sees Zethrid making her way over to his group.

_Oh shit…_

“Keith Kogane, what in name of all things good did you do to your foot?!” Zethrid demands.

“I…uh…” Keith stammers. Zethrid is a teacher no one dares double cross. She’s six feet tall, large, but not overweight. She’s just a big woman that could break Keith’s skull with her bare hands if she wanted to.

“Use your words now,” she replies with a smirk.

“Ispraineditjumpingoutofatree.” Keith says quickly.

She raises an eyebrow. “I didn’t catch that, speak slower.”

Keith sighs. “I sprained it jumping out of a tree.”

“Why were you jumping out of a tree? Wait…” She turns to Ezor. “Was this what Lotor was telling us about yesterday during their Corex Games?”

Ezor nods. “Yep! Keith won for his team when he jumped out of the tree and ran over to his group.”

Zethrid chuckles heartily. “Well, I suppose it was sheer dumb luck then…like how you’ve managed to pass my class in the past.”

“Oh, come on, Zethrid! You’re just trying to throw us off so we’ll mess up!” Ezor complains.

“You’ve got a star player on the bench with an injury, Ezor. You have no chance at winning,” Zethrid replies smugly.

Ezor huffs and looks away from her. “Come on guys, let’s get started on the boxes.” She leads them over to where a bunch of empty crate boxes are. “Okay, do you guys remember how this one goes?”

Lance smirks and nods. “Yep! We need to stack the boxes as tall as possible without the whole thing falling over. Since Keith’s useless, he can sit on my shoulders and stack the boxes higher once we can’t reach them anymore.”

Keith raises an eyebrow. “You sure you’re able to hold me up.”

“I’m stronger than I look, Keith,” Lance replies before turning to the rest of the group. “Okay, here’s the game plan. We all will start stacking boxes on top of one another then Jeffrey and I will continue to do it until we can’t reach any higher then I’m going to get Keith on my shoulders so he can keep the top steady while we add more to the middle.”

Kara crosses her arms. “Who died and put you in charge?”

Lance quirks an eyebrow at her. “I believe our class elected me as president, but if you have an issue with that I’m sure you can take it up to principal Alfor if you’re this upset about it.” He smiles sweetly at her before turning to Sylvia and Jeffrey. “Are you two ready?”

Sylvia and Jeffrey smile at Lance and nod before each taking a box and stacking it on each other. Keith moves up close to it and scans the ground. “Maybe you guys should find some flatter ground to put the boxes on so it doesn’t tip earlier.”

Lance nods. “Good idea, Keith. Guys, move it this way.” Lance gestures for Jeffrey and Sylvia to bring the boxes a little bit across the grass onto a flatter part of the ground.

Kara continues to stand off to the side, refusing to help because Lance is directing everyone around. Honestly, Keith doesn’t understand Kara’s issue with Lance. He knows why she has a problem with him - mainly because Keith always calls her out on her shit, but Lance literally doesn’t do anything to her to piss her off. Lance doesn’t do anything to anyone in general! He’s a sweet, caring guy who always makes sure everyone’s okay and always puts others in front of himself even when he’s hurting.

Keith finds himself glaring at Kara and wanting to smack her across the face for acting like this. Maybe she’s in a pissy mood because Damien isn’t in this group or maybe because everyone in this group hates her.

Wait…does everyone in this group hate her?

Keith turns and looks at Sylvia, pondering her for a moment. Sylvia is one of Gwen’s closest friends so she probably does hate her just as much. Not to mention Sylvia had to deal with her during zero-hour choir all last year…that must’ve been an absolute _nightmare_. Kara thinks she’s this good singer, but, from what Gwen has said, she’s tone deaf and can’t sing for shit. No wonder why she didn’t make Capella choir last year…

“Keith!” Lance exclaims, breaking Keith out of his thoughts. “You ready to get on my shoulders?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. How are we going to do this?” Keith wonders.

“Lance, I advise against putting Keith on your shoulders. It’s too risky for the both of you,” Ezor says from next to them. “A piggyback ride would be safer.”

Lance sighs. “Fine, okay. Keith, I’ll squat down in front of you then you climb on me.”

“That was worded very weirdly,” Keith comments as he hands Ezor his crushes. He hobbles over to Lance and jumps on his back (the best he can with a busted ankle). Lance stands up and stumbles slightly, almost falling over. “Lance!”

“I got you, Keith! Don’t worry…I won’t drop you,” Lance reassures him. “Okay! Let’s get these last few boxes on the tower! Jeffrey, can you lift it on your own?”

“I mean yes, but I can’t guarantee it won’t fall,” Jeffrey replies dully.

Lance turns to Kara. “Kara, are you going to help us or stand there the entire time pouting?”

Kara rolls her eyes and stomps over. “ _Fine_ …I’ll help.” She grabs the other side of the box and lifts it up with Jeffrey.

Keith immediately reaches his hands up to steady the tower. He squeezes his legs tighter around Lance so he won’t fall. Lance tightens his grip on Keith’s legs to reassure him that he won’t let Keith fall. Sylvia takes the second to last box and places it between the stacks just before Jeffrey and Kara place the other ones back on top. They step back and watch the tower wobble slightly, threatening to fall over. Keith’s eyes widen in fear, but he sighs of relief when the tower stays standing. Kara and Jeffrey go back to their spots and grab a higher box and lift it up while Keith lifts his arms again and supports it from the back. Sylvia fumbles with the box for a second before placing it on the tower. Kara and Jeffrey slowly set down the rest of the boxes on top. Everyone takes a step back and waits to see if the tower falls. It wobbles again for a couple seconds but stays upright.

Ezor claps loudly from nearby. “Nice job! You did it!” She looks over at Zethrid’s group and smirks triumphantly before looking back at her own group. “Let’s finish up the rest of these activities, then you guys will get a little time to yourselves before lunch. Sylvia, would you please get Keith’s crutches for him?”

Sylvia nods and grabs them as Lance kneels on the ground to let Keith get off his back. He grabs the crutches from Sylvia and manages to keep his hurt ankle off the ground. Ezor takes them over to where Coran’s group is walking across the pavement, each person holding a piece of rope that goes to the center where a soccer ball balances on top.

Now, Keith doesn’t know how this group got lucky enough to have Coran as their leader nor did he know how this group was actually a thing freshman year. This group is full of all the best people! It has Gwen and Shay in it (Keith has no idea how they got to be in the same group both times), who are two people who Keith get along with great, Kyle Davidson, who is on the hockey team with Keith, Natalie Jacobs, who was a new girl to their class last year, but still managed to get a Corex leader spot, and Ben Richard, the catcher on the baseball team with Keith and who so happens to be the guy Gwen never shuts up about. Honestly, Keith’s surprised he hasn’t heard one thing about him all during their time here…or maybe she has talked about him when Keith wasn’t around.

_Hmm…_

Keith breaks out of his thoughts when he sees Gwen almost trip over a rock. Shay sees and gets distracted for a moment, stopping to look if Gwen’s okay.

Lance’s eyes widen. “Ben, look-” He winces as Ben’s string snaps in half and he stumbles backward onto the ground. The lack of resistance from Ben causes Gwen to actually fall to the ground. Natalie and Shay both drop their ropes and turn to Coran.

Ben groans from the ground. “Faulty rope! We would’ve done it!”

Kyle raises an unamused eyebrow at him. “Ben, you’re only lying to yourself.”

Keith makes his way over to Ben and smirks down at him. “Well, that was quite a show you put on. You should be used to the ground though, you always slide in the dirt.”

Ben scoffs and jumps to his feet. “I react late so I have to slide whenever the ball is hit where I am! I get a little distracted sometimes…”

“Oh? Did someone in our group distract you?” Kyle asks with a mischievous smirk.

Ben’s cheeks flush pink and his eyes widen. “No! Shut up!” Ben turns and glares at Keith. “You’re no better with McClain.”

“At least I don’t let my feelings for him cloud my ability to play,” Keith replies smugly.

“Shut up, Kogane,” Ben grumbles. “Let me suffer in _peace_.” His head snaps over to where Coran, Shay, Lance, and Gwen are when he hears Gwen laugh loudly.

Kyle and Keith exchange a knowing smirk before they both elbow Ben. He slaps them both away before stomping over to the others. Gwen turns and tilts her head at him. “Are you okay? You took a nasty fall back there.”

Ben chuckles and nods. “Yeah! I mean you tripped over that rock so I think it’s your fault we lost.” He smirks.

“Actually, Shay’s the one who stopped when Gwen tripped,” Lance interjects, “but good try, Ben…though you’ll have to try a little harder than that.” He winks at Ben, probably knowing exactly what Ben was doing.

Keith, on the other hand, has no idea what Ben was doing.

Ben glares at Lance. “You shut up, McClain. I-”

“Boys! Enough arguing,” Coran scolds. “It’s time to move to the next activity!”

Gwen waves goodbye to Lance and Keith then follows Coran, Shay, and Natalie over to the carpet squares game. Ben glares at Lance once more before following them. Kyle gives Lance a fist bump before jogging over to his group. Keith looks at Lance and tilts his head in confusion. “What was Ben trying to do?”

Lance chuckles. “Flirt horribly with her.”

Keith goes to ask a follow-up question, but Ezor immediately starts explaining the next game to them. Keith tunes her out because he can’t really participate in this activity…nor any of the other upcoming ones.

Technically, if he wanted to, he could go complain about his leg some more and ask to sit out from the rest of the activities, but he’d be away from Lance and that wouldn’t be fun. Keith looks over at his group and sees them halfway to where they need to put the ball. Lance is directing everyone where to go and they all seem to be listening, but Kara still is being pouty about it.

Keith doesn’t understand her problem with everyone, not just Lance in general. She treats everyone like this who tries to lead a situation just because she doesn’t agree with their opinions/ideas. She even boycotted an assembly speaker just because she didn’t agree with his viewpoints. Her claim was because she didn’t want to hear the counterpoint because it would challenge her own beliefs. How does that make any sense?! Do you not have a strong enough belief in your morals that someone could change them? Hmm, maybe your morals were shitty in the first place! Ever thought of that?!

Keith shakes his head, ignoring the thoughts. He can’t get stressed about her bullshit because it doesn’t affect him. He’s got Lance and Hunk to rely on, not to mention his other friends. He turns his attention back to his group as they successfully drop the soccer ball into the bucket. Lance claps and high fives everyone…even Kara allows him to do that. Keith watches Lance jog up to him with a big smile on his face. “While we were doing this, I just got an idea of what we can do during free time.”

“What is it?” Keith wonders.

“Never Have I Ever in the pool,” Lance says, smirking. “It’s time to really get to know each other.”

Keith’s eyes widen slightly in fear causing Lance to laugh evilly. He walks up to Keith and kisses his nose. “Don’t be scared, Keith. I’ll be gentle with you.”

Keith opens his mouth to reply, but Ezor beats him to it. “BOYS! LET’S GO!” she yells. Lance gestures for Keith to follow him over to the next activity and they exchange a small smile as Ezor explains the directions.

_What kind of stuff could Lance have planned for Never Have I Ever?_

 

* * *

 

**Corex Day 3, Afternoon:**

After an amazing sloppy joe lunch made by the Garetts, Keith follows Lance, Hunk, and Shay out of the main cabin. Lance goes down the stairs in front of Keith to make sure he doesn’t fall down the stairs. Once they get down, Lance smirks at them. “Alright, meet at the pool in half an hour, okay? Shay, make sure you tell Sylvia, Cassidy, and Gwen.”

Shay smiles and nods. “Okay! What are we going to do?”

“That’s for me to know and for you to find out,” Lance replies.

Keith rolls his eyes and elbows Lance. “Come on, I need a shit ton of sunscreen.”

Lance nods and waves goodbye to Shay then leads Hunk and Keith back to their cabin. “Okay, I have to go tell a couple other guys to meet us at the pool, but I’ll be back to help you out, Keith. Don’t die while I’m gone.”

“Don’t tempt me. If I walk on my ankle then Lotor will kill me,” Keith replies, going over to the back of the cabin to get his swim stuff from the clotheslines.

“Keith, I swear to God I will burst into tears,” Lance says as he walks into the connected cabin.

Keith chuckles to himself then turns to Hunk. “Want me to grab your suit?”

Hunk nods. “Yeah! Thanks, man.”

Keith opens the door and turns left and sees all the swim trunks and…other things…on the clothesline. He grabs Hunk’s, Lance’s, and his own from the clothesline before going back inside. Keith tosses Hunk’s to him then Hunk goes into the bathroom to change. Keith sets his crutches against his bed frame then goes to take off his shirt, but stops when he hears a pained noise from behind him.

“ _Keith,_ what are you doing?! I thought we talked about this!” Lance exclaims from behind him.

Keith whirls around and glares daggers at him, but stops when he sees Ben standing next to Lance in black swim trunks and a white tank on, smirking. “Keith clearly isn’t ashamed of how he looks. I mean all he does is flaunt himself on the baseball diamond.”

“I’m doing my job!” Keith exclaims. “I have to run around like I do because I have to cover a lot of ground! You just sit there and do nothing.”

Ben raises an eyebrow at Keith.

“Okay, you actually do a lot as a catcher, but still…I don’t _flaunt_ myself,” Keith grumbles.

Hunk walks out of the bathroom and jumps, startled when he sees Lance and Ben. “Holy crap, you two gave me a heart attack.”

“Sorry, Garett,” Ben apologizes. “You wanna wait outside while these two do what they gotta do?”

Hunk nods. “Yes please.”

Ben smirks at Keith’s irritated expression as he and Hunk walk outside. Keith turns to Lance. “Why did you invite Ben? You know he likes pushing my buttons.”

“He’s our friend, Keith. You like when people push your buttons,” Lance replies. “Also, because Gwen wants in his pants and I _will_ be the one responsible for them getting together.”

Keith rolls his eyes. “She doesn’t want in his pants…what are you talking about?”

“Keith, you don’t understand love like I do,” Lance says. “I can tell she likes him a lot, but I don’t know how he feels about her. I think there’s something there, but he can hide his emotions well. Shay and Hunk both love each other equally. I’m pretty sure Bea’s gay for Gwen-”

“I thought Bea liked Lily?” Keith wonders.

Lance points at Keith. “Now you’re getting it! I’m a wonderful teacher. Now I’m gonna change, you hurry and change into your suit. I don’t want to see anything I shouldn’t.” He grabs his suit then goes into the bathroom.

Keith quickly takes the time to change into his suit just before Lance walks out of the bathroom. “I don’t know where my sunscreen went,” Keith says sheepishly.

Lance sighs. “Keith, what am I gonna do with you?” He walks over and picks it up from the ground. “It’s right here.” He stands in front of Keith and hands it to him.

Keith smirks and wraps his arms around Lance’s waist before kissing him. Lance lets out a surprised sound before kissing him back. Keith hears Lance drop the sunscreen back on the ground then feels him run his fingers through Keith’s hair, making the ponytail fall out. Lance pulls away and smirks. “There we go, the mullet is free now.”

Keith glares at Lance and shoves him away lightly. “Shut up and put sunscreen on me.”

Lance laughs and picks up the sunscreen again. “Alright, turn around then, mister”

Keith does as Lance says and inhales sharply when he begins spraying his back. The freezing cold lasts for a few more seconds before Lance starts rubbing it on Keith’s back. Lance’s hands feel soft and warm across Keith’s back. He starts rubbing Keith’s shoulders once he gets up there. Keith groans in content as Lance works out the knots in his shoulders. “ _Lance…_ ”

Lance chuckles. “Feels good, right? You’re so tight up here. This can’t be healthy.”

“Mmm,” Keith hums in response.

“Keith, come on. You have to spray me still,” Lance urges, pulling Keith’s hair gently.

Keith sighs but sprays Lance’s back when he hands him his sunscreen. The two boys finish putting sunscreen on their faces and the rest of the places that need sunscreen before joining Hunk and Ben outside.

Once together, the four boys head over to the pool where the girls are waiting. Shay has the same grey one-piece suit she had on when they went into the lake on the first day while Sylvia has on a black one-piece. Cassidy and Gwen have on similar suits, the bottoms both looking like a pair of spandex, but Cassidy’s top is pink with white polka dots and Gwen is a tie-dye pattern of purples, greens, and blues. The girls see them and wave at them. “Hey, guys!” Sylvia exclaims.

“You guys ready for a fun time?!” Lance asks with a huge smile on his face.

“I totally would be!” Gwen exclaims with a smile, but it quickly goes back into a frown. “Except for the fact Kara and her bitch squads are in the pool.”

“Welp, guess it’s time to jump in the lake!” Keith exclaims. “Who’s with me?”

Gwen raises her hand, but Cassidy puts it back down. “No…no. We’re not doing that. We can just stay on one side of the pool and they can have the other.”

Lance nods. “Exactly! Thank you, Cassidy.” He leads them into the pool and they stop when they see them taking up the entire pool.

Gwen crosses her arms. “Told you so.”

Ben snickers. “Well, this is a problem.”

Kara perks up when she hears him speak and turns to look at him. “Oh! Ben! Hi!” She goes up to the edge of the pool of the shallow end and leans against it, making sure to show off the cleavage she has in the clearly too small of a bikini she’s wearing.

Keith crosses his arms and rolls his eyes, completely disgusted with Kara. Is she _trying_ to get in everyone’s pants?!

“Come in and join me, the water is fine,” she says slyly, motioning for Ben to come in the water.

Keith turns and looks at Gwen to see her reaction and he’s not surprised to see Gwen with her fists clenched. Someone might be punched today…and for once Keith isn’t going to be doing the punching.

Ben chuckles nervously. “Uh…I’m good. Maybe you shouldn’t stand like that?” He looks away. “You’re gonna lose something.”

“Oh…I’m not ashamed of the girls…I can tell you wanna look,” Kara replies, smirking.

“Do I need a magnifying glass to see them?” Keith asks without thinking.

Kara turns and glares at him. “Keith, you’re fucking gay. How the fuck would you know?”

“I think it’s bitches like you who turned me gay. I’m surprised Damien is still into girls after dealing with you,” Keith replies casually. “In fact, I’m surprised any male who has to look at you isn’t moving onto guys.”

Kara’s jaw drops and she stands up straight. Gwen and Sylvia burst out laughing and high five each other. Keith smirks at them then turns back to Kara with an amused smile. “Anything else you’d like to say?”

Kara yells in frustration then storms out of the pool, clearly frustrated. Her other friends quickly follow her out the door, leaving the water vacant. Lance turns to Keith with a raised eyebrow. “Where did that come from?” he wonders.

Keith shrugs. “She had it coming.”

Ben chuckles. “Well, _I_ appreciated it. I don’t know why she always feels the need to flirt with me like that…it’s unnerving and annoying as hell. She’s with Damien!”

Hunk scoffs. “I’m pretty sure they’ve cheated on each other several times. Neither of them cares at this point.”

Ben opens his mouth to reply, but Lance claps his hands together, interrupting him. “Okay! Enough about that…everyone get in the water then we can start. We’re gonna play Never Have I Ever.”

Gwen groans. “Nope! I’m not playing that with _you_ people. Goodbye.”

Keith watches as Ben jumps into the deep end of the pool and then quickly come to the surface, shaking his head. “Aww, come on, Gwen! What’s so bad about us?!”

She crosses her arms and turns to glare at him as he swims over to the shallow end to smile up at her. Gwen raises an eyebrow, unamused. “Do you really want me to answer that?”

Lance gasps. “Rude! I’m a great person!”

Gwen sighs. “Fine, Lance is the only cool one. I’m still heading back to my-AH!” She shrieks as Hunk lifts her up bridal style and carries her over to the deep end. “HUNK! LET ME GO!”

“Okay!” Hunk exclaims before tossing her into the water.

Keith stifles a laugh when Gwen goes back to the surface and glares at Hunk. She begins yelling at him, but screams again when Hunk jumps into the pool, splashing her. Ben laughs from where he is in the shallow end before joining them in the deep end.

Keith turns his attention away from them and makes his way over to the stairs. He hands one crutch to Sylvia, who is standing next to him, before grabbing the railing. He passes off the other one so Sylvia can set them aside and hops into the water, cringing at the coldness. He ignores the freezing temperature and hops down another stair.

_Holy shit it’s cold._

He looks across the pool and sees Cassidy, Sylvia, and Shay getting in the pool from the deep end ladder while Lance steps onto the diving board. He motions for everyone to get out of his way before preparing himself to jump. He hops on the board a couple times before jumping high up into the air and diving down into the water.

Keith finds himself smiling at Lance when he pops his head out of the water with an excited expression. Lance makes eye contact with him then begins swimming over just as Keith hops down from the last stair. “You look good in my element,” Lance says lowly, slowly walking up to Keith. “I enjoyed saving you last time you fell in the pool.”

Keith chuckles and rolls his eyes. “Shut up…”

Lance giggles and presses a kiss to Keith’s forehead. “C’mon, mullet…let’s join our friends.”

Keith smiles at Lance as he leads them deeper into the water where everyone else is. Once they get over there, everyone turns to Lance to see what he’s going to have them do. “Okay! As I said before, we’re first we’re gonna play Never Have I Ever,” Lance says. “Everyone hold up ten fingers.”

“Is the winner the person with the most fingers left up?” Gwen wonders, holding her fingers up.

“Yeah, we can play that way,” Lance replies. “You wanna start?”

Gwen smirks. “Sure…never have I ever been out of the country.”

Lance, Hunk, Ben, and Shay groan loudly and glare at her as they put a finger down. “No fair!” Hunk turns to Cassidy, Sylvia, and Keith. “None of you have been out of the country?!”

Cassidy shrugs and shakes her head no. “Nope.”

“I’ve always wanted to go to Mexico!” Sylvia exclaims.

“Never had the opportunity,” Keith replies dully.

“One day I’ll take you to Cuba, Keith,” Lance says with a smile. “That’s a promise.”

“Thanks, Lance.” Keith gives him a small smile.

Gwen turns to Sylvia, signaling it’s her turn. “Okay! Never have I ever…been in a relationship,” Sylvia says.

Keith glares at Sylvia. “You jerk.” He puts his thumb down and watches as Lance, Hunk, Shay, Cassidy, and Ben put their fingers down.

Gwen smirks and high fives Sylvia. “Nice one!”

“Never have I ever gotten a C on a test,” Hunk says.

“BULLSHIT!” Gwen exclaims. “That’s a lie!”

Hunk shakes his head no. “I’m dead serious. I’ve never gotten a C on a test before.”

Gwen scoffs as she puts a finger down. Keith watches as Lance, Cassidy, Ben, and Sylvia all put a finger down. “Damn…Keith, you’ve never gotten a C?” Ben asks.

Keith shakes his head no. “I’ve gotten a really low B minus though. Is it my turn? Okay…uh…never have I ever been on a roller coaster.”

“GOD DAMMIT!” Gwen yells as she puts another finger down. Ben, Lance, Hunk, Cassidy, and Sylvia all put down a finger. She looks at Shay. “You’ve never been on one?!”

Shay shakes her head no. “I was terrified of them as a child so I stayed away from them. My turn! Never have I ever skipped school.”

“What counts as skipping school?” Hunk wonders.

“Deliberately not showing up. I’m not counting illness or sports conflicts,” Shay replies.

Lance snickers and puts a finger down while Cassidy, Sylvia, and Keith casually put one down. Gwen raises an eyebrow at them. “Seriously?”

“I missed a week in the third grade for a stomach ache I didn’t have,” Lance shares.

“I ditched a half day because I didn’t feel like going,” Cassidy says.

“I skipped a day because I was too stressed and didn’t want to take a test,” Sylvia says sadly. “I’m not proud of it.”

“Usually the foster parents I stayed with didn’t send me to the best schools so I faked some sickness to get out of going,” Keith shares. “I really hated some of the places I was sent to.”

Lance gives Keith a sympathetic smile and drapes an arm around his shoulders. “Well, Keithy, you go to an amazing high school now and you have a ton of friends.”

Keith smiles. “Yeah, that makes me feel better.”

Everyone turns to Cassidy and waits for her to figure out it’s her turn. “What - oh! Uh…never have I ever gotten a suspension from school.”

Keith gives her an unamused expression as he puts a finger down. “Not cool. You all know I got into fights before the Shiroganes adopted me.”

Cassidy gives him an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Keith! I didn’t know what else to say.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I never started the fights anyway,” Keith replies. “Though, the other kids went home with more injuries than I did.”

“Believable!” Ben exclaims. “I’ve seen you out on the diamond, dude. You can pack a punch.”

Hunk nods in agreement. “And the football field.”

"Don't forget the ice rink!" Cassidy adds.

“Never have I ever been thrown out of a game,” Lance says next with wide eyes. “And yeah…it’s scary out there. How do you guys not die?”

Ben and Keith both put down fingers and shrug along with Hunk. “We’ve got a lot of padding on out on the football field, but I can’t say the same for on the baseball diamond,” Keith says.

“Let the record show I was only thrown out of a game asking a ref if he could actually see where the ball was being thrown,” Ben states. “He called two strikes on me when the pitches were clearly balls.”

Keith laughs loudly. “Oh my God I remember that game! I had to take your damn position because Jake was out with mono! We almost lost that game too because I can’t function as a catcher.”

Ben snickers. “Right. Okay! My turn.” He pauses to think for a moment before smirking. “Never have I ever fallen off the Mario Kart track Rainbow Road.”

“WHAT?!” Gwen shrieks. “LIAR!” She puts a finger down.

Keith watches as Lance, Cassidy, Sylvia, Hunk, and Shay all put down a finger as Keith does. “Yeah, Ben. I’m not buying it,” Keith says.

“It’s true! I’m amazing at that course!” Ben defends.

“I challenge you to a race then,” Gwen says as she turns to glare at Ben.

Keith notices a glimmer of admiration in Ben’s eyes when he looks back at her. “Promise?” Ben asks hopefully.

Gwen rolls her eyes. “Yes, dummy. I’ll make sure you fall off the edge.”

They continue bickering for a few more seconds before Keith gets sick of it and splashes them to shut them up.  The game continues and eventually Lance, Ben, and Cassidy get out. Hunk and Sylvia are left with two fingers, Shay with one, and both Keith and Gwen with four. The game turned from everyone against everyone to Gwen versus Keith. Somehow Ben, Lance, and Cassidy got caught in the crossfire and lost the game.

Gwen smirks at Keith. “Never have I ever gotten a hundred percent on an exam before.”

Keith rolls his eyes and puts a finger down, ignore Hunk’s and Shay’s noises of protest. Shay is out of the game while Hunk is left with one finger. “I don’t see how this is fair anymore,” Hunk complains.

“Never have I ever owned a pair of converse,” Sylvia says.

Hunk, Gwen, and Keith groan loudly and each put a finger down. Hunk floats over to the wall where Shay is and leans against it, draping his arm around her shoulders. “Well, I’m out.”

“Never have I ever not known how to swim,” Keith says, glaring at Sylvia.

Her jaw drops down in shock and she glares at Keith. “Not fair! That’s targeted at me!”

Keith shrugs. “I’m playing to win.’’

“Never have I ever kissed anyone,” Gwen says.

Keith flips her off before putting another finger down. “Screw you, Gwen.”

“Never have I ever played volleyball,” Sylvia says with a smirk.

Gwen’s jaw drops down in shock. “What?! How _dare_ you?!”

“Top ten worst anime betrayals,” Lance comments with a chuckle. “My money’s on Sylvia winning because she knows what she’s doing.”

“Hey!” Keith exclaims. “I’m glad you’re out! Okay, never have I ever played an instrument.”

Sylvia and Gwen groan loudly. “That’s a low blow!” Sylvia exclaims, lowering her hands.

Gwen narrows her eyes at Keith and bites her lip in concentration. “Never have I ever…been fouled out of a game.”

Keith chuckles. “I have not fouled out of a game. I have been thrown, but never fouled.”

Gwen smacks the water in frustration. “Damn it!”

“Never have I ever owned a pair of Heelys,” Keith says with a smug expression.

Gwen puts her last finger down and rolls her eyes. “I really hate you.” She then points at Keith. “You better watch your back, Kogane. You made a powerful enemy today.”

Keith shrugs and gives Gwen a smug smile. “I’m not scared of you.”

Gwen opens her mouth to retort, but Lance interrupts her. “Okay! Well, that was a thrilling game! Nice win, Keith.” He winks at Keith then claps his hands together. “Now we’re gonna play a round of Truth or Dare.”

“Nope! I’m out,” Gwen announces. “I refuse to play that.”

“What?! Gwen! Come on!” Ben protests.

She continues to ignore him as she makes her way over to the stairs to get out of the pool. Ben suddenly swims over to her and wraps his arms around her, preventing her from leaving. “Ben! Let me go!” Gwen shouts.

“Not until you agree to stay!” Ben exclaims, wrapping his arms tighter around her.

She struggles against him, managing to turn around in his arms to glare at him. Gwen opens her mouth to tell him off, but her eyes widen realization at their close proximity. Keith notices her eyes flicker from Ben’s eyes to his lips then back up to his eyes. Lance elbows Keith gently and smirks, leaning down to whisper, “I told you so.”

“What? We already knew Gwen has a crush on Ben,” Keith states. “What are we trying to prove?”

“We’re trying to prove Ben feels the same way,” Lance whispers back. “Observe his facial expressions and the way he’s holding her. You can tell he cares deeply about her.”

Keith turns back to Ben and Gwen and looks at the way he’s holding her. He doesn’t see anything out of the ordinary - just that he has her arms restricted so she can’t move them. “Lance, I don’t see anything,” Keith complains in a whisper.

Lance sighs and rests an arm on Keith’s shoulder. “He’s avoiding resting his hands on her exposed back while still keeping her close.”

“I still don’t see the big deal,” Keith says. He turns back to Gwen and Ben and watches as Ben finally releases her, allowing her to get out of the water. Cassidy and Sylvia exchange a solemn expression before following her out of the water.

Ben turns to Lance and crosses his arms. “Thanks for the game of Never Have I Ever. It was fun, but it didn’t accomplish anything. I’m right where I’ve always been…the friend-zone.”

Lance sighs. “Ben, you can’t give up. Just be honest with her! It worked for me.”

“Well, that’s because said person reciprocated the feelings.” Ben gives Keith an unamused expression. “But also, wouldn’t shut the fuck up about said feelings either.” He looks back at Lance. “I appreciate the help, but not everyone can be fortunate like you.”

Ben salutes Keith then makes his way out of the pool. Hunk and Shay wade over to Keith and Lance. “You tried, but they’re not gonna crack. Maybe try letting them take care of things themselves? If they’re meant to be, it’ll work out,” Shay says. “Let them be…I’m talking to you, Lance.” Hunk nods in agreement then motions for Shay to follow him out of the water.

Lance rolls his eyes. “Fine, let’s get showering and go see whatever Allura has planned for us next.” He and Keith make their way over to the stairs and Lance helps him walk up before getting his towel and crutches. “What do you think we’re doing?”

Keith shrugs. “Not sure. I think we’re just meeting for dinner, group meetup, then we head back to school.”

“What!? Nooo!” Lance complains, moving to stand in front of Keith. “I’m having fun here at the beach with you.” He presses his forehead against Keith’s. “I don’t wanna leave.”

Keith smirks and lightly presses his lips against Lance’s, giving him a soft kiss. “Maybe we can go on spring break together somewhere warm.”

He leans forward to kiss Lance again, but Lance gasps and leans back. “Oh my god! My family is going to Disney World and Universal Studios! I can so convince my mom to bring you too!” Lance exclaims.

“Really? I’ve never been there before,” Keith replies as they continue walking to their cabin.

“That should be illegal! Disney’s the happiest place on Earth!” Lance exclaims, opening up the door for Keith. “Anyway, if we’re lucky, there should be no one in the showers for a bit. They’re all probably in the lake or playing GaGa ball.” He grabs a change of clothes and his shower stuff.

“I wish I could play some GaGa ball,” Keith complains. “Stupid ankle giving out. I did it for you, Lance.”

Lance scoffs. “We both know you did it because you hate Nyma’s guts.” He grabs Keith’s shower stuff for him as Keith digs in his bag for clothes.

“She broke your heart just because you came out as bi,” Keith grumbles. “I hate her.”

Lance shrugs. “I’m over it. Wanna know something no one else knows?” he asks as they walk to the showers.

Keith gasps. “Not even Hunk?!”

Lance rolls his eyes. “Okay, Hunk knows, but that’s beside the point. Nyma forced me to go with her to Homecoming…I actually planned on asking you.” He chuckles. “Though I was under the impression you’d say no so I devised this plan to kidnap you.” Keith looks at him with an amused expression. Lance smiles and looks at the ground. “It sounds silly now that I say it out loud. Obviously, you would’ve said yes. I wish I could go back and tell my past self that.”

“Past Keith made some poor choices so he probably would’ve done something stupid and refused. He wasn’t good at making friends,” Keith shares with a chuckle.

Lance laughs and elbows him lightly. “Enough of that.” He kisses Keith’s forehead. “I loved past Keith! His hair was longer than this - and that’s saying something!”

“Piss off!” Keith exclaims, laughing. He hobbles over to one of the showers with his shower stuff once he hears the bell go off. “That’s the bell. We better hurry up before everyone gets in here.”

Lance smiles and nods before entering his own shower. Keith turns the water on and sighs in content as the hot water runs down his back. He smiles to himself, feeling satisfied for his time here at Corex. He wonders what the rest of the year has in store for him.

 

* * *

 

**Corex Day 3, Evening:**

Keith sits down on his bed and dries his hair with his towel as Lance walks out of the bathroom. He grabs his bag and begins packing up his stuff as their cabin mates come in and out, getting their stuff to take showers. “You were right, Keith,” Lance says. “The showers are gonna be packed.”

“I’m always right,” Keith replies, lightly tossing his towel at Lance.

“Hey!” Lance catches the towel and glares at Keith. “No need for violence, jackass. Are you gonna pack up your stuff or do I have to do it for you?”

“Since you offered…” Keith trails off with a smirk. “Kidding, I’m kidding.” He stands up, using Lance’s arm to steady himself before grabbing his bag and putting it on the bed. Keith shoves his trash bag of dirty clothes in the bag then zips the bag up. “Perfect!”

Lance sighs. “You continue to astound me,” he says with a sarcastic expression.

“I’m gonna ignore that sarcastic tone in your voice,” Keith replies, putting his sleeping bag and pillow in another trash bag. “Okay, now that that’s done, we-”

Suddenly, Hunk bursts into the room, out of breath. “Lance! There you are! Allura’s looking for you. She wants you to talk in front of the class before we’re dismissed back to school.”

“Oh, yeah. I’ll go find her,” Lance says, plugging his phone in.

“Better hurry, she’s gathering everyone up to the main cabin right now,” Hunk says as Lance runs out the door. “Speaking of which, let’s go cripple.” He claps. “Double time!”

Keith rolls his eyes. “I don’t have to deal with that shit for at least one more week.” He motions for his crutches and Hunk hands them to him then they make their way towards the main cabin. Shay meets up with them and she and Hunk help Keith up the stairs to where most of the class is and where Lance is standing, talking with Allura, Lotor, Ezor, Zethrid, Slav, Coran, and principal Alfor himself. He makes eye contact with Lance and he winks at Keith, causing him to blush slightly and look away.

_Cheeky bastard._

Once the rest of the class is here, Alfor raises his hand to quiet everyone. “Hello everyone, I hope your three days here at Corex were educational and fun. From what Lance has told me, everyone had a great time one way or another. I’m happy to hear that he thinks you all have grown closer together as a class. I’ll let him say a few words before we send you to dinner,” Alfor says, stepping back so Lance can speak.

“Thank you, Mr. Quinn. I’ll try to keep this brief since I know all of you are dying for food…I am too because the Garetts made pizza and I will fight all of you to get twelve pieces of that.” Lance chuckles. “I’m gonna be real here, I was not looking forward to this. I wanted to skip it, but my mom and siblings told me I’d regret it if I didn’t go.” He smiles. “I see what they were talking about now. I’ve made so many memories here that I’m gonna cherish forever…I hope each of you can say the same thing. If you didn’t have fun, well, I’m sorry. Did you put forth the effort to have fun? If the answer is no, then it’s on you. You may not be able to go back in time to start these three days over, but you do have the rest of the year to make up for it. Thank you, everyone, for an amazing senior retreat. I’ll never forget it.” Lance nods, signaling he’s done and the class cheers for him.

Allura and the other teachers direct everyone into the main cabin where everyone gets some pizza the Garetts made. Once Lance and Keith get theirs, they make their way back out to the deck to look at the sunset. Keith sets his crutches aside and closes his eyes as the lake breeze blows against his face and through his hair.

“It’s so beautiful out here,” Lance comments, looking around. “I really don’t want to leave.”

Keith takes a bite of his pizza and nods. “My skin won’t miss it though.”

Lance rolls his eyes. “That’s your own fault for not reapplying.”

“We were having fun in the lake! I didn’t want to get out!” Keith defends.

Lance turns and smiles widely at him. “I’m just teasing you, Keith. I didn’t want you to go either.” His eyebrows suddenly furrow in worry, and he looks back out at the beach. “We still have the entire year to go through with each other…then what?”

“We have the summer to do whatever we want,” Keith replies, linking his arm with Lance’s then rests his head on Lance’s shoulder.

“But we have college decisions to deal with, the ACT, keeping grades up for scholarships - it’s too much, Keith,” Lance shares. “I-I don’t know if I can do it. I really want USC, but I don’t know if I can live up to their expectations. Hunk and I have been talking about it since we were kids, but I don’t know anymore.” He looks at Keith. “What college are you thinking about?”

Keith shrugs. “No idea. Whatever one gives me the most money in scholarships. I don’t want my parents to have to pay a dime for my education any longer.”

“You don’t have a dream school?” Lance asks with a raised eyebrow.

Keith scoffs. “Well, of course, I do. MIT for aerospace engineering, but that’s never gonna happen. I’d need like a 5.0 to get into that without having to pay anything.”

“Don’t you have a 4.8 right now?” Lance wonders. “Plus, you’ve been on the varsity baseball team since you were a freshman…they’d be crazy not to accept you.” He gives Keith’s arm a squeeze. “It just sucks that it’s on the opposite side of the country.”

“Yeah…I could consider USC. They’ve got a great football program,” Keith says.

“I thought you liked baseball more?” Lance wonders.

Keith shrugs. “Yeah, but Vanderbilt’s engineering school isn’t as good as USC’s. Well, Notre Dame’s hockey program is getting pretty good too.”

“Isn’t Vanderbilt in Nashville?” Lance asks. Keith nods. “Thought so…then Notre Dame is in Indiana.” Lance sighs. “I don’t know anymore, Keith. Maybe our wants will change and we both might go to community college together!"

Keith raises an eyebrow. “Yeah, uh, no. I don’t ever want to see Kara again.”

Lance chuckles. “You right.” He turns and sees people making their way back to the cabins. “Shit, we better get our stuff to get on the bus.” Lance grabs his and Keith’s finished plates and throws them in the trash. He hands Keith his crutches then starts walking towards the stairs. Keith, however, doesn’t follow right away. He ponders Lance’s comment of his wants for his future possibly changing. Could they? He’s been wanting to go into aerospace engineering ever since he discovered his passion and love for space. What if his future is in football, hockey, baseball? He never considered a career in the NFL, NHL, or MLB. Keith could do it, Coach Slater and Coach Ames both think he’s got the talent to go professional in baseball and hockey and, as much as he hates to admit it, Coach Morrison sees much potential in Keith as well.

“Keith?” Lance calls, breaking Keith out of his thoughts. “You ready?”

Keith takes a deep breath and nods. “I’m ready.” He exchanges a smile with Lance and walks with him to the cabins, grabs his stuff, and boards the bus back the school.

This marks the start of Keith’s final days at Altea High and with the people, he’s grown up with. What will senior year have in store?

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this. It took a lot out of me to express everything that has happened over the span of those three days and I'm glad I was able to write it in a way so many people found enjoyable. I promise you that the rest of this AU will _not_ be disappointing. You will cry though, I can tell you that much.
> 
> Anyway, thanks again for reading! Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated!  
> Tumblr: [keithpoenewt](http://keithpoenewt.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Merry Christmas!


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